How to come back from a bad job interview

There’s nothing like a bad job interview to knock your confidence, but it really shouldn’t impact you in that way.

Bad job interviews happen. No matter how hard you prepare, things can still go wrong. You might have had a bad day, been ill or simply weren’t at your best – that happens to everyone.

When it happens, you can feel inadequate and like you’ve let yourself down. Again, these feelings are entirely normal and absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

If that’s happened to you recently, I’ve got five awesome tips for coming back from a poor job interview. They’ll leave you feeling stronger than ever before and ready to tackle the next one - I promise.

1. Take some time

It might be tempting to jump straight into the mixer and head for another interview if the last one went to pot. But, before you do that, take some time to reflect.

Bad interviews can leave you feeling upset, confused and frustrated. It’s important to iron those feelings out before you step foot in another interview room, because you won’t be in the right frame of mind until you’ve done so.

If you ignore this advice and instead go straight into another interview situation, it might turn out much worse than the first and knock your confidence even further.

2. Request another chance

This won’t always be appropriate, depending on what happened at the interview, but if yours was bad simply because you’d had a bad day (due to circumstances outside of your work life, for instance), there’s nothing wrong in asking for another go.

What’s the worst they can say? They’ve already said “no”, after all. With some employers, you’ll be looked upon favourably for having the guts to do so.

3. Look at what you can learn

Deep down, you probably know what went wrong during that interview. However, if you take the time out to think about it (see tip 1), you’ll stand a better chance of identifying the lessons to be learned.

Were you inadequately prepared? Was there a lack of passion in the way you presented yourself? Did the interviewer catch you unawares with certain questions?

We all make mistakes, but it’s how we come back from them that matters.

4. Forgive yourself

Don’t beat yourself up about that bad job interview - you’re not the first or last person to go through something like that.

More importantly, you’re human, and humans make mistakes.

It’s important to recognise that you’re fallible and that you’ll trip up occasionally as you make your way through your career journey. Learn to forgive yourself and the next interview will seem far more achievable.

5. Apologise, if necessary

If the interview went particularly badly on your part and you really didn’t set a shining example of the person you are, it might be a good idea to say “sorry”.

Sometimes, you really aren’t at your best, and that can reflect badly in an interview. It’s completely normal to want to rectify that, and if asking for a second chance isn’t appropriate (see tip 2), writing an apology probably is.

Say sorry that you weren’t up to the task that day, but rather than making excuses, acknowledge your mistakes. Be specific, too; if you felt ill-prepared for the questions, tell them that was the case.

You never know what might come as a result of an apology, after all!

Wrapping up

We’ll all experience bad job interviews in our lifetime, but the key lies in learning and responding positively.

If there's one key takeaway today, it's the value in taking time to reflect and plan ahead for your next interview, before jumping straight in again.

Use my tips above, and you won’t fear the next job interview you have - you’ll relish it and absolutely smash it!